music365 - Muse : London ULU (February 25 2000)

You could be forgiven for thinking that, in the world of Muse, 1995 was a very special time. A veritable Year Zero, in fact, it being the year Radiohead's 'The Bends' came out. Even a cursory listen to Muse's debut, 'Showbiz', will show you just how much their sound is in debt to Oxford's finest (it helps - or hinders, depending on your view - that 'Showbusiness' too is produced by John Leckie), from Matt Bellamy's soaring vocals through to the coughing, punky art rock guitars and the general stratospheric intention of the choruses... A kettle of fish that quite a few white indie guitar bands have been brewing in the last five years, and one that's led to some pointless pastiches and flash-in-pan careers. Tonight, though, you get the feeling that Muse won't be one of them. Almost from the word go, Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard unleash a an hour of splenetic, classically styled alternative rock that makes their recent inclusion as part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Foo Fighters stadium line-up in the States look perfectly natural. They launch into a cover of Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' (perhaps not the most logical of covers, but there you go), and from then on it's a sure-footed run through a clutch of songs that gain so much more live. Bellamy's voice is still redolent of Thom Yorke's, but he's obviously outgrown the need to ape the Radiohead frontman's exasperated hysteria, the little jumps and breathy exclamations that grate on record. And he's ditched the guitar tricks a la Greenwood, though he's anything but a conventional player, wrestling and poking at his instrument like he's temporarily forgotten what it's there for. Tonight's version of latest single 'Sunburn' blazes where its recorded cousin only fizzles; it's as if Muse have used their LP as a building block for nights like this. Suddenly their recent elevation to ubiquitous Best New Band status starts to ring true. Bellamy's slight frame, like an even more under-fed Jarvis Cocker, is an unlikely focus, but the 20-year-old has an awkward sort of charisma nonetheless. With only one album to lean on, this packed-to-the-rafters London finale to the most talked-about tour of early 2000 is a relatively short affair. But there's a hint of new things to come - 'Plug In Baby', a new track, gives the soaring 'Cave' a run for its money as their high point so far. And in half a dozen separate moments, Muse show that their upcoming American stadium gigs won't test them. The first big stars of 2000 have arrived. When they lose their '...Bends' fixation, they'll be a force to be reckoned with. Stephen Dowling -Music365

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